New to hearing aids. Phonak M

Katyj My husband found hearing aids very strange at first, but after a wearing them a few times he adjusted to them and can feel the full benefit of them now.

Aah that’s good news Horatia. I’ve had mine in all day, but I’ve got a headache so taken them out for a rest. I think it might take a while to get used to them.

The trick is to bung 'em in and keep 'em in. That is the only way to get used to them.

I know some people who take them in and out and try for short periods and then ditch them - to the detriment of those around them who are trying to make themselves heard!

I hope you got yours on the NHS and did not spend thousands on them! I have state-of-the-art aids from the NHS free, with all batteries free too - a bargain!

Yes Luckygirl their NHS blue tooth ones. I definitely need them so will persevere.At least my tinnitus is much improved with them.New day tomorrow onwards and upwards.

I’ve had hearing aids for 7 years but wear them only when I must. I’ve never got used to them and it’s always such a relief to remove them.
I need them to hear a conversation in a busy place but they just amplify the background noise as well as close up taking.
With them in everything is still muffled but louder. They are especially useless for phone calls.

Can you have hearing aids if you habe tinnitus?

watermeadow - my mother-in-law has a setting of some sort for telephone use.
She hasn't bothered to find out.
It's very annoying to be honest.

I meant yo say, could you explore that I wonder?

I got them after losing hearing and awaiting an op fir perforated eardrum as I was completely deaf in right ear with this. I was offered them pro temp the minute I out it in everything came back. After waiting a year for an op I refused it and just kept going with the aid.

Hi yes they’re recommended if you have tinnitus that’s one of the reasons I wanted to try them.
watermeadow. Maybe you should try the newer Bluetooth aids. Mine have different settings for using with your phone, also the loop system in banks etc, plus a restaurant and tv setting I’ve yet to try the restaurant setting but apparently it blocks out background noise.

Can you have hearing aids if you have tinnitus?

Yes, I find it helps quite a lot.
I certainly notice the difference if I don't wear them, say if I'm just at home on my own for the day.
Mine are free NHS ones, but not Bluetooth. I don't think they're available in all health authorities.

I've worn hearing aids for about 10 years now. Earlier this year I was issued some new Phonak ones (on the NHS via Specsavers). They are much better than my old ones. They have an app so you can create different settings on your phone (e.g. outside sports, restaurant etc) - but I must say I haven't had much luck with those.

The big bonus is that they connect via Bluetooth to my phone, so phone calls go straight into my hearing aids and are much clearer. I also use them to listen to podcasts on my phone whilst gardening, cleaning etc.

As others have said, the main problem is that hearing aids amplify all sounds, so I still struggle in noisy environments - but they are getting better all the time!

Thank you Katy and Vera

You've done well to keep them in all day if you've never worn them before! Even just a change of aids takes a few days to adjust to. I have NHS bluetooth too, it's amazing how natural they'll sound to you once you've been wearing them a few weeks.

I have NHS ones from Specsavers but I cannot hear the doorbell, phone or a conversation. I cannot live like this so tomorrow I pick up my £2K ones from Specsavers.

I need them to hear a conversation in a busy place but they just amplify the background noise as well as close up taking. - the latest NHS ones have a "Noisy Environment" setting - you need to go back and get yours upgraded.

They connect to your phone via bluetooth and you can alter the settings from there.

My Dh refuses to wear his.
They irritate him and he fiddles with them and then they fall out.
Hopeless!
Very annoying for the rest of us.

Morning. My HA are in, the Bluetooth is working but they won’t connect to the app, so frustrating !
Charley girl. That’s a shame about your HA which ones were they ? Please let me know how you get on with your new ones.

Gingster. Try and persuade your husband to go back and get them adjusted. There’s different size tubes now so they won’t fall out and you don’t need to touch the HA if their blue tooth you can use the app. Good luck it seems there’s a lot of trial and error.

Snap! I too picked up my NHS aids yesterday. They’re brilliant and I was able to wear them all day, rapidly losing the ‘echo’ of my own voice. I wasn’t sure what had happened to them yesterday morning as I couldn’t hear my hair rustling when I inserted them and did some button fiddling, eventually working out that I hadn’t completely snapped the battery compartment closed completely! I then had to undo my button fiddling. All a learning process. I haven’t used the blue tooth facility yet. The only problem I’ve found is that, tiny as the ear pieces are, I find my ears are sensitive and slightly irritated by them. This doesn’t surprise me as I’ve never tolerated ear buds particularly well. I’m just hoping I’ll get used to them as the benefits are so welcome!
Good luck with yours.

Hi nana. I wish you all the luck in the world. I’m also finding mine itchy, I mentioned it during the fitting process, and he said it’s common and should sort itself out, I also had this with my AirPods.
It is indeed a learning curve, I’ve been trying to connect mine to blue tooth this morning had it working yesterday but they wouldn’t connect this morning, anyway I’ve discovered if I disconnect the tv sound bar they connected straight away.
Keep in touch it’ll be interesting to how we’re getting on.

I too wear hearings aids (NHS), however I do from time to time have problems with them and I also find fiddling with the volume isn't always the answer. One question is if I adjust one aid does the second one also adjust at the same time OR do I have to adjust the two independently? Charleygirl I am extremely interested to see how you get on with your new private hearing aids. I have over the years been very interested if they are any better than the Phonak ones I have from NHS. Please let us know. I do have trouble even with hearing aids in and they are def not 100% brilliant. Any advice would be grateful.

Icandoit

I too wear hearings aids (NHS), however I do from time to time have problems with them and I also find fiddling with the volume isn't always the answer. One question is if I adjust one aid does the second one also adjust at the same time OR do I have to adjust the two independently? Charleygirl I am extremely interested to see how you get on with your new private hearing aids. I have over the years been very interested if they are any better than the Phonak ones I have from NHS. Please let us know. I do have trouble even with hearing aids in and they are def not 100% brilliant. Any advice would be grateful.

Hi. I think you have to adjust them both individually. I haven’t pressed any of the buttons on the HA only used the app as it seems easier to see what you’re doing. Are yours Bluetooth ?

Thanks for reply. Yes mine are Bluetooth but when I collected them audiology technician said to leave App alone and adjust them myself. Not sure if she knew much about the app (like me) . I know they have various different settings but really not sure how well they adjust tbh. It's all a bit confusing. I sometimes feel they are not working as they should as I have already had both of them replaced due to them being faulty so a bit confusing in my opinion. How does anyone really know 100% if they are doing the job properly.

Icandoit

Thanks for reply. Yes mine are Bluetooth but when I collected them audiology technician said to leave App alone and adjust them myself. Not sure if she knew much about the app (like me) . I know they have various different settings but really not sure how well they adjust tbh. It's all a bit confusing. I sometimes feel they are not working as they should as I have already had both of them replaced due to them being faulty so a bit confusing in my opinion. How does anyone really know 100% if they are doing the job properly.

Yes I know what you mean, I think there’s a lot of guess work involved. When I went for my hearing test my tinnitus was particularly bad that day I told them, but wonder how much it’s impacted my results.
I would download the app it’s very easy, must be or I couldn’t do it 🤣 you may find them easier to adjust.
I got a result of moderate to high hearing loss in one ear and mild in the other I’ve never had those results before so who knows.